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RE: Surround sound speakers

I know there's some techno-gurus here so I thought I would throw this question out since I am sure there are folks here who would know the answer to this . . .

As some of you know I am remodeling my master bedroom (along with the downstairs bathroom, entry, part of the living room and in fact I've had the contractors take out the entire front wall and replace it.) One of the things I want to do is put in a surround sound system in the bedroom.

I have a cheap system now that should be fine for what I want . . . however the wires to the speakers aren't long enough and I want to make it so that should I update the system I can do so easily.

Here's what I am doing. I am planning on installing a "speaker connection" (looks like a phone jack or a coax jack only it's made for speaker wire) on one side of the room where the surround sound system will be. Speaker wire will be run from this speaker connection through the ceiling's void space and down the wall to a second speaker connection on the other side of the bedroom. My idea is to connect my surround sound system's two rear speaker outputs to the first speaker connection and then connect the two rear speaker's wire to the other speaker connection.

First off, will this work?

Second question . . . and here's the big question . . . it's a cheap system (unlike the one I bought a while back for the living room) and the speaker's wire are "hard-wired" to the speakers. Can I cut this wire and use the speaker wire connection from the two speaker connections . . . and if so are there any special considerations?

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the realization that there is something more important than fear."

My idea is to connect my surround sound system's two rear speaker outputs to the first speaker connection and then connect the two rear speaker's wire to the other speaker connection.

I got lost on this line, but I think you meant to say "second rear speaker's wire" instead of "two rear speaker's wire"?

Anyway, it will work. Hard core audiophiles will say to use oversized wire and gold plated plugs and connectors, and to use as few connectors as possible to reduce loss. They will also promote specialty speaker wire over generic wire.

I would recommend larger wire than the light duty stuff that comes with some of the older systems, like the systems that have the wire run right out of the back of the speaker. I ran 18 gauge wire for mine, basically stranded lamp cord. A larger gauge may be desired if it's a long run. Again, you will see fanatics run 12 or 10 gauge.

I would also recommend running the wires as far as possible from from any electrical lines as possible to avoid interference. Obviously, at some points they need to run close.

As far as using the existing speaker's wire to connect to the wall jack, it will be as good as it is now, so I would not wory about it.

If you were installing a dedicated theater room, I might be more inclined to overbuild for high power systems. It seems for a bedroom, you would not need to do that.

In my family room, I ran some undersize wire about 25 feet to each of my rear speakers temporarily and it is still there and works fine, at least to my hearing abilities.

I agree with brdad... stranded lamp cord is the way to go. You can get a roll at Home Depot, Lowe's or an electrical supply store cheap. I've done this for my setup here and it works great! Make sure you take note of the polarity of the wires; incorrect polarity will have a negative effect on sound quality. You can also get your wall speaker connectors at Home Depot or check out Smarthome.com.

Thanks for the replies . . . it sounds as though I can do this with no problem then . . . just need to make a few snips here and there and then connect the speakers to the system -- of course I also have to finish insulating, put up the drywall, sand the drywall, paint the drywall, put down the carpet/tile, hang the doors, etc.

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the realization that there is something more important than fear."

I agree with brdad... stranded lamp cord is the way to go. You can get a roll at Home Depot, Lowe's or an electrical supply store cheap. I've done this for my setup here and it works great! Make sure you take note of the polarity of the wires; incorrect polarity will have a negative effect on sound quality. You can also get your wall speaker connectors at Home Depot or check out Smarthome.com.

Oh yeah, I know all about reversed polarity. A number of years ago I installed a car stereo and accidentally had the polarity reversed to some connections. My first indication of my mistake was when a thin tendril of smoke began to curl out of the back of the stereo.

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the realization that there is something more important than fear."

Oh yeah, I know all about reversed polarity. A number of years ago I installed a car stereo and accidentally had the polarity reversed to some connections. My first indication of my mistake was when a thin tendril of smoke began to curl out of the back of the stereo.